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Tobacco is a well-established accelerator of biological aging through adverse epigenetic reprogramming, yet populations such as Andorra paradoxically exhibit both high smoking prevalence and some of the longest life expectancies worldwide. This observation underscores the potential role of resilience factors\u2014including diet, physical activity, psychosocial cohesion, and environmental context\u2014that may buffer or counteract the negative epigenetic imprints of smoking. By highlighting this paradox, we emphasize the importance of understanding how protective influences reshape DNA methylation landscapes to sustain healthspan despite harmful exposures. Recognizing and enhancing epigenetic resilience might offer a path toward targeted interventions that could mitigate the consequences of tobacco and other stressors, ultimately informing strategies to promote healthy aging at both individual and population levels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fragi.2026.1839065","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T06:03:10Z","timestamp":1779775390000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Tobacco, biological aging and epigenetic resilience: the Andorran paradox"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Pooja","family":"Reddy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Georgetown University","place":["Washington, WA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dhairya","family":"Nanavaty","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mount Sinai Hospital","place":["New York, NY, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pradeepkumar","family":"Devarakonda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Missouri","place":["Columbia, DC, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pedro","family":"Moreno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mount Sinai Hospital","place":["New York, NY, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Global Action to End Smoking","year":"2025"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1016","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-024-03483-9","article-title":"Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality","volume":"31","author":"Argentieri","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat. 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